Marathon – forerunnerwatches.org

September 16, 2017

Barefoot Running Shoes are you ready for the switch?

If you’re a runner, you should seriously consider dropping your expensive hi-tech running shoes and switching to barefoot running sandals.

I know that “barefoot running sandals” sounds somewhat oxymoron, like jumbo shrimp.

I mean if you’re running barefoot, then you can’t, by definition, be wearing sandals. Right?

Okay, let me explain.

Barefoot running is increasingly popular. Since Chris McDougall’s book, Born to Run, about the Tarahumara Indians who ran (and won) ultra-marathons either barefoot or wearing huaraches — simple running sandals they often created from old tires and twine, increasingly more people are interested in barefoot running. People, myself included, were transfixed by the storied of Caballo Blanco (the “white horse”) and Barefoot Ted, who tossed off their regular running shoes and went barefoot or in running sandals instead.

In the book, Chris talks about how he had been plagued with injuries until he went barefoot.

There were articles in almost every major newspaper about running without shoes, with arguments about whether this is useful for you or not — the “pro” camp saying that it’s more natural and will not only reduce running injuries but heal old ones, and the ‘con’ camp saying that could be stressful on your feet and calves.

Mind you, my experience is that invest the it easy at first and avoid, it’s not dangerous at all — certainly not more than running in shoes. And, I also had some long-term calf injuries that, after a month of running barefoot, are totally gone.

But, anyway… here’s the deal.

Running barefoot is great. It’s many fun, it changes the method that you run to a more efficient style, it feels good to not be involved with socks and shoes… and it can mess you up pretty bad if you accidentally step on something (which, furthermore, happens WAY less often than you might imagine… in fact, less often than how often I would trip on something when running in my racing shoes).

Or, sometimes you need to run on a surface that, well, just doesn’t seem conducive to being without shoes.

Which brings us back to huaraches, the running sandals of the Tarahumara.

Huaraches running sandals provde the benefits of barefoot (or as close as you can get) with the protection that can keep you from getting cut up by stepping on something by accident.

Barefoot running sandals are really pretty simple: some sort of sole, and something to tie that sole to your foot.

For soles, I’ve seen leather, cardboard wrapped in duct tape, carpeting, even your basic beach flip-flop bottom. One really good choice, if you’re able to find it, is Vibram 4mm “Cherry” material. It’s really flexible but provides great protection.

For the strapping, you should utilize leather lace, hemp, nylon/polypropylene or anything else that’s strong but flexible. There are a couple of different tying styles: one looks like it goes with a toga, the other is less, oh, odd-looking and lets you slip-on and slip-off your huaraches.

Another barefoot-ish option — not quite a sandal, but worth mentioning — is called Vibram Five Finger shoes (yes, the same Vibram from the soles I mentioned earlier). These are like gloves for your feet, with separate places for each toe.

I like the VFFs, but they don’t feel as free as huaraches. They also don’t fit my feet quite well, and the soles are much thicker and more structured than the huarache sandals.

Barefoot running shoes are the closest thing there is to barefoot, other than somehow painting a flexible but impervious layer of something-or-other directly onto your foot.

For more information, visit our website – www.InvisibleShoe.comhttp://www.invisibleshoe.com – If you are a barefoot runner and want more information on running barefoot or barefoot running sandals, visit Invisible Shoe. We are the foremost authority on barefoot running sandals.

Running a Half Marathon Guide

Half marathon races are gaining popularity in the racing world nowadays due to the fact that they involve a challenging distance for runners and yet do not require a very strenuous training level compared to full marathons. Running a half marathon means running a distance of 13.1 miles – a challenging task for beginners, advance, and competitive runners.

For beginners who have conquered several 5K or 10K races, running a half is considered to be their next step in their running career. Advanced runners also do this activity since it helps them build more endurance and keeps them strong during races. For competitive runners, half marathons serve as their preparation for the marathon races.

The level of training of a half marathon stays in between the 5K or 10K races and marathon. Marathon training requires 5 months of training, while a half marathon involves only 3 months of training. So, basically, running a half marathon is a good choice before running a marathon to help the body get more used to the demands of a full marathon.

Running a half though is not something to be taken for granted. Running it can still be demanding both physically and mentally. A runner should be serious enough in training for half’s if he wants to improve his running abilities.

The training for a half marathon is composed of four phases: endurance, strength, speed, and tapering. Each phase includes a training program or schedule that needs to be met by athletes before proceeding to the next phase. These four phases have a pre-training week to assess the runner’s level of fitness and help he/she decide if he/she is fit to start the training program or do a little more of the pre-training until he/she comfortable and confident enough to engage the program properly. A runner must “incorporate” the training program into his/her daily routine. Flexibility and adaptability to the training program is needed. What is important in running a half is to train in a gradual manner. Hastiness is discouraged since it can lead to a serious problem or injury.

Half marathon trainings are also categorized into three levels: beginner, advanced, and competitive. Beginner program includes rest periods throughout the duration of the program. Advanced program may have days off, but it has many weeks without rest periods. The competitive program does not include any rest periods or off days.

May I recommend you also read the articles by RunCoach Jen. She wrote an article I think you would have some interest in called 10k training schedule intermediate [http://runtofinish.com/10k-training-schedule-intermediate/]. For a complete guide to running, running gear selection, running styles and mistakes, and training schedules, check out Running Guide [http://runtofinish.com/].

Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Maggie_Beardsley/631373

August 14, 2017

Fat Loss Simplified Part 1

The Lost Art of Intensity…I’ve been saying this for years… “Fat people finish marathons all the time!” It’s not about the distance covered it’s about how FAST or INTENSE the distance was covered. I wish people would get this through there heads when January comes and they embark on the magic “run for weight-loss” kick. People see the Kenyan crossing the Boston Marathon finish line and actually believe that running made him/her skinny… The fact of the matter is that Kenyan’s body type had more to do with the selection of that runner’s mother and father than running 26.2 miles ever did. Some people are “built” for running long distances and some people are not… On average most people are not! You may ask why?

The large majority of our population is just too structurally unsound to run over long distances. Imbalances at the ankle and hip can cause havoc on the knees and low back… Just ask any local Physical Therapist who there number one patient is and more often than not they will say the long distance runner. Professional long distance runners are plagued with over-use injuries such as Plantar Fasciitis, Shin Splints, Anterior Knee pain, IT Band/Lateral Knee pain and hip and low back dysfunctions. I won’t even get into the subject concerning Free Radical damage and the actual “oxidizing” that occurs in the body from not only Pollutants in the atmosphere but just from running for prolonged periods of time. The Free Radical damage mentioned has been shown to increase the likelihood of many types of cancers especially that of the brain. Excessive running also increases a stress hormone called Cortisol. The hormone Cortisol is great in fight or flight situations like running from a tiger or getting out of a tight jam but elevated Cortisol levels for too long of period can flat out ruin health much less your fat loss program.

In all honesty human beings just were not built to run slow in a straight line for prolonged periods of time… On the contrary we as human beings are best suited for using our energy for short bursts of energy and than recovering like throwing a spear at an elk or deer, chasing it down and dragging it home to feast. Our body’s number one goal is Survival! Running for long stretches from a cave man perspective wouldn’t have been very smart… Think about it; would you want to fatigue yourself by running a 5k or 10k and than get chased by a potential predator? Could you actually manage to flee from danger with runner’s knee or a case of shin splints? How much sense would it make to go on a hunting marathon, SLOWEY running after dinner making all types of commotion, scaring off potential food while simultaneously making you more vulnerable to being eaten? If you really look at it more closely the only way to catch food is if you could actually sneak up on it. You know actually hunt for it. Don’t forget! Animals, yeah, they kind of sense things like danger, oh and they hear pretty well too. In order for you to catch dinner for your family you would have to be berry, berry QUIET like Elmer Fudd looking for that widdle wabbit… You would have to be cunning and keen, patiently (what do Americans know about patience) waiting for the right time to pounce… At the right moment you throw a rock or a sharpened stick, SPRINT and try to catch the prey before it darts off into the deep forest or open plain.

I know it sounds crazy because we no longer have to hunt for food; Burger King and your local supermarket actually do that for us. But before technology and processed food and refrigerators it really was SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST! No drive through windows, delivery options Nutri-System, Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers. In fact the act of dieting from a survival standpoint makes no sense at all, ironic that the first 3 letters of the word diet are DIE! We Americans no all about dieting were the fattest people and the planet.

What’s the Secret?

I’m going to tell you a little secret… Would you like to know why there are so many fat and unhealthy individuals in our country? Aside from the fact that people live off of box foods, skip breakfast, work too much, don’t sleep enough and obviously just don’t move enough. People want results and don’t want to work for them. It just doesn’t work that way! So what’s the SECRET? The secret is INTENSITY. We have to work harder, not longer. If longer worked than you wouldn’t see fat marathon runners, but you do. If easy worked than riding on that bike while talking to your girlfriend would work but it doesn’t. The fact of the matter is that simple and easy is not the same. Easy implies no effort. Simple means not complicated. Achieving total health and lower body fat levels is simple, but it’s far from easy.

Stay tuned for Part 2! I’ll discuss the phenomenon of Chunky Aerobic Teacher Syndrome and how to combat it…

Matt Pack, NASM CPT, Nutrition Lifestyle Coach
http://www.extremefatlosstraining.com

Advanced Bodybuilding Training – Routines And Exercises

Remember that training to increase muscular size and strength is not the same as training for a marathon or other primarily aerobic activity. Advanced Bodybuilding training is an anaerobic activity, and the training requirements are, therefore, totally different. Anaerobic training with weights requires tremendous bursts of physical effort which can only be sustained for short periods.
This is because the demands for oxygen from extreme bodybuilding/strength training are so great that the body cannot supply sufficient oxygen to the working muscles to be able to sustain their work output on an aerobic level, i.e. with oxygen. Therefore, the muscles must quickly switch over to anaerobic respiration to continue contracting. This causes a rapid build-up of metabolic by-products including lactic acid, which eventually cause the muscle to stop contracting if the set is taken to muscular failure.
This is the point at which muscle growth is greatly stimulated, and there are many techniques which can be used to take a muscle ‘beyond’ muscular failure, e.g. by quickly reducing the weight, the muscle can continue to contract and reach an even greater level of temporary fatigue, leading to even greater growth stimulation, in order to further stimulate muscular development.
Therefore, by virtue of a high-intensity weight-training session, it is neither possible, nor desirable, to do set after set of very high intensity work, without overtaxing the body, leading to a state of over training, and possible loss of strength and size, in addition to a halt of further progress. You simply cannot put your body through this kind of work for long periods, but if you train for only a short duration per workout with high intensity of effort, and train infrequently, the results you desire will be yours.
For most beginning trainees, it is recommended to train the entire body two or, at most, three times per week. The workout should involve the use of basic, compound movements that stimulate large masses of muscle, and allow the use of the largest possible training loads, relative to the starting strength of the trainee. As progress is made over time, a person may find that it is not possible to train all muscle groups effectively due to fatigue near the end of the workout.
This is because the muscles will have become larger and stronger, and the energy requirements for their contraction are thus far greater than when the person started training, leading to a faster onset of fatigue. At this point it is advisable to train different sections of the body on different days, e.g. upper body at one workout, lower body at the next, to help overcome this problem.
This will ultimately mean that you may only train the entire body once every seven to ten days, especially if you begin to split up your upper and lower body muscle groups into different workouts. However, because you are much stronger than when you started training and your training intensity will be far greater, you will be able to deliver a much larger amount of growth stimulation to your muscles per workout, which will mean that you will require more time to recover from each training session.
Therefore, you can see that the bigger and stronger you get, the more physiological damage you are capable of inflicting upon yourself at each training session, which then goes ‘hand-in-hand’ with a need for more rest and recuperation.
The exact amount of time that you should allow to elapse between workouts is variable from individual to individual; we all have slightly different tolerances for exercise and adaptation to training. The only real way to know for certain if you have recovered from a previous workout at the muscular level is to have a biopsy done on that muscle and have it structurally and biochemically examined for remaining indications of trauma.
As this is obviously not practical after every training session, it is up to you to determine the time periods between workouts that allow for the best increases in size and strength without over training and regressing.
In future articles, I will cover aspects of over training with regards to extreme bodybuilding training, and how it can be recognized and avoided for optimum gains. Until then, train hard, rest and grow!

Mick Hart – Hardcore Bodybuilder – Expert Muscle Growth Training. Author of two anabolic steroid best selling books, steroids and bodybuilding magazine publisher. Steroid Taking Advice and Advanced Bodybuilding Training to develop SAFE huge muscles.

July 21, 2017

Tips for Brain Health

When you think about fitness, you probably think about marathons and muscles, but do you ever consider brain fitness? You should! Your brain plays a critical role in every area of your life, from learning, working and playing, to personality, aptitude and memory. While the brain is the bodyâs most important organ, it is also the most mysterious. There is a lot that science canât yet explain, including why some people can still recall the name of their first-grade teacher at age 100, while others develop the early signs of Alzheimerâs in their 60s. But emerging research indicates that with a few relatively simple lifestyle choices, you can maximize your brain health while minimizing the risks of age-related memory loss and brain diseases like Alzheimerâs. Hereâs how.

Read more on Brain Tonic and Improve Memory Power and Improve mental performance
1. Eat a Brain-Healthy Diet. A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids (commonly found in fish), protein, antioxidants, fruits and vegetables and vitamin B; low in trans fats; and with an appropriate level of carbohydrates will help keep your brain healthy.
2. Stay Mentally Active. Activities such as learning a new skill or language, working on crossword puzzles, taking classes, and learning how to dance can help challenge and maintain your mental functioning.
3. Exercise Regularly. Exercising often can increase circulation, improve coordination, and help prevent conditions that increase the risk of dementia such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
4. Stay Social. Spending time with friends, volunteering, and traveling can keep your mind active and healthy.
5. Get Plenty of Sleep. Not getting enough sleep can have a negative impact on brain health.
6. Manage Stress. Participating in yoga, spending time with friends, or doing other stress-relieving activities can help preserve your ability to remember and learn.
7. Prevent Brain Injury. Wearing protective head gear and seat belts can help you avoid head injury, which has been associated with an increased risk of dementia.
8. Control Other Health Conditions. Maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, eating a well-balanced and nutritious diet, and controlling stress can help reduce your risk of diseases that affect your brain, including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and hypertension.
9. Avoid Unhealthy Habits. Smoking, heavy drinking and use of recreational drugs can increase the risk of dementia and cognitive decline.
10. Consider Your Genes. If your family history puts you at risk for developing dementia, work with your doctor to find ways to maintain your brain health to help avoid or slow the progression of cognitive decline.

Read more on Brain Tonic and Improve Memory Power and Improve mental performance

Vibram Kso – The Most Comfortable Feeling You Have Had

Standard athletic shoes for hiking, running, running, climbing and other forms of exercise often leave much to be desired. Standard shoe is heavy. It is difficult to get a good fit; the shoes can be constrictive in one place or another loose. You can rub, causing blisters, or thrown out of the entire alignment of the body, causing even more serious problems. You will not have problems with innovative Vibram KSO.
Vibram FiveFingers shoes are made with fine materials and are very light. It’s almost like going barefoot. You will be able to work more with less effort. Have a natural spring in your step. And since the shoes are built with much less padding on all sides and the bottom, the foot fall naturally, and your body will maintain the correct alignment.
The human body was created to walk and run a certain way, and modern sneakers often force the foot upon landing at an unnatural angle. This imbalance continues through the legs and hips in the back and shoulders, resulting in chronic pain and injury. Furthermore, excessive filling the bottom of most athletic shoes encourages heavy landing on the heel, increasing the shock disturbance in the body. Vibram FiveFingers shoes encourage a light tread, landing on the ball of the foot where the shock is absorbed better.
You can get optimum performance and injury-free training by working with the formulation of his body. The human body was not created with the shoes, so it is logical that barefoot is the best way to move. However, there is a risk of injury due to increased waste or slide. The Vibram FiveFingers shoe, as light as is, foot guards and a rubber sole property known for traction, grip and foot protection.
Lightweight materials of Vibram FiveFingers shoes hug the foot for a custom fit almost. There are no gaps loose for the foot to slide around, but not constrictive shoes because the materials are elastic and flexible. The blisters and hot spots are a thing of the past.
The most striking feature – and the key difference – this revolutionary shoe is the toes. The Five Fingers Shoes has pockets each toe, like a glove for your feet. Instead of being trapped inside a safe toe, toes can spread freely when needed. This, together with the thin sole allows the foot to flex and adapt to changes in the soil. Balance and agility are better, and back muscles come into play, giving the best training I ever had.
Instead of trying to fix many common sports injuries with the construction of reinforced shoes growing up, the Vibram FiveFingers shoe uses the latest technology and progressive design that takes us back to a simpler time – a time when every movement was natural, healthy and strong.
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July 9, 2017

Discount Vibram Five Fingers Shoes Join The Trend Of Fashion On This Christmas

This particular model is good for water sports, pilates, yoga, hiking, running, walking and just about anything you want to use. I started using them for training and CrossFit gym, and gradually began to build the road to running them. I’m not an avid runner, but for me running 4.3 miles a few times a week I have not been disappointed.
Two years ago I started noticing these odd shoes on the streets and in the gym. With more research, I decided to join forces and test the new technology barefoot. For my first pair of Five Fingers KSO I chose the popular, versatile, kso, meaning Keep things out.
Just months ago, in the great city of Washington DC, I met with the FVF new creation, the Bikila. This model is designed for running and gym, so I thought it would be the perfect job for me. Once that Bikila slipped for the first time in my walk I was sold. If I may say that these were the best impulse buy I’ve made. I started the next day to run my usual three runs a mile and my feet were jumping for joy. I thought I loved to run in my kso, but Bikila felt they were perfectly suited for my feet alone.
VFF have been part of my lifestyle for almost a year and I’ve noticed improvements are amazing. Good posture has always been a challenge for me. I have been fighting for years with the approach of not allowing my shoulder to roll forward, we expect that the prevention of injuries in the neck or spine. Since I started using FVF I think now is much easier to stand. The biggest improvement I see is in the hips and lower back. Earlier, after a long day standing on your feet and maintain good posture, I came home with sore feet and my lower back felt like I had been carrying a package of 90 pounds throughout the day. I get my FVF almost every day for as long as possible and my spinal alignment feels more natural and comfortable than it ever has before.
I’ve been practicing yoga for about 4 years and I am an ardent supporter. However, of all the talents I’ve been blessed with, the balance is not one of them. One of the things that initially struck me as the VFF research was to strengthen the muscles of the leg and foot. Nobody really thinks that the shoes we wear every day are actually home to our feet and forcing them to unnatural positions. Stimulation to your feet and leg muscles feel barefoot does not occur in most normal shoes like tennis shoes, high heels and boots. Well, I wore shoes that hurt your feet in any manner or form almost every day. If they were the work shoes or shoes game, never felt so great. Now that I wear almost every day FVF, my balance has improved tenfold. Now I can go with the big dogs in the yoga class and do not feel as if my body is rebelling against all the great balancing poses.
Although I have a lot of pain and looks funny on my shoes, it’s worth every second of control. My goal in life is to try to live as long as possible and to stay healthy and independent in all my years here. Vibram Five Fingers Shoes If you help me be closer to my goal of a long and prosperous life, then it will always be part of my collection of shoes.
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Vibram Five Fingers Let Your Skin Be Your Guide

Over time, the Vibram FiveFingers can help you become a strong runner, efficient, healthy and fast born to be. But the transition safely, you need to feel the soil first to go completely barefoot. If you take the time to feel the ground, build their feet and develop their step, which greatly diminish your chances of injury when it comes time to fall into the five fingers.
When you run completely bare, you learn to run incredibly light, because they fully “feel” the soil and its impact. Most importantly, when your skin gets raw and tender, you stop and head home. Not too many people out there who will push through the skin raw or blister, at least not in an easy training run. That’s why I always tell my runners, “Let your skin be your guide.” Cheap Vibram Five Fingers are offered at our online store. Were sure you wont be able to find such best collection of Vibram Fivefingers Shoes anywhere else.
When you let your skin be your guide, protects everything beneath the skin. The challenge FiveFingers shoes not that their skin becomes raw, is that it is not. You may not feel the cumulative damage being done inside weakened parts of your foot. First, the muscles are still asleep, and not used to the new step yet. Second, even if the muscles are ready, the tendons that attach muscles to bones are still asleep. Third, although the muscles and tendons are ready, the bones have not grown more robust to handle the muscles and tendons pulling points accession. If you are looking for high quality Five Fingers KSO, we are the place for you.We also have not developed the flexibility of the feet to drive a full range of motion, step by step, mile after mile. And finally, they have developed the ‘fill’ in the foot, to help cushion the impact natural.
Over time, the Vibram FiveFingers can help you become a strong runner, efficient, healthy and fast born to be. But the transition safely, you need to feel the soil first to go completely barefoot. If you take the time to feel the ground, build their feet and develop their step, which greatly diminish your chances of injury when it comes time to fall into the five fingers.
When you run completely bare, you learn to run incredibly light, because they fully “feel” the soil and its impact. Most importantly, when your skin gets raw and tender, you stop and head home. Not too many people out there who will push through the skin raw or blister, at least not in an easy training run. That’s why I always tell my runners, “Let your skin be your guide.” Cheap Vibram Five Fingers are offered at our online store. Were sure you wont be able to find such best collection of Vibram Fivefingers Shoes anywhere else.
When you let your skin be your guide, protects everything beneath the skin. The challenge FiveFingers shoes not that their skin becomes raw, is that it is not. You may not feel the cumulative damage being done inside weakened parts of your foot. First, the muscles are still asleep, and not used to the new step yet. Second, even if the muscles are ready, the tendons that attach muscles to bones are still asleep. Third, although the muscles and tendons are ready, the bones have not grown more robust to handle the muscles and tendons pulling points accession. If you are looking for high quality Five Fingers KSO, we are the place for you.We also have not developed the flexibility of the feet to drive a full range of motion, step by step, mile after mile. And finally, they have developed the ‘fill’ in the foot, to help cushion the impact natural.

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It Was Character Of The Island That Deemed Sublime Rather Than A Specific Landscape Feature

The sublime landscapes of the British West Indies were most often described from the comfort and safe distance of the ship; they did little to evoke feelings of fear or pain in the travel writers. Instead, as the island was approached from the sea and viewed in its entirety, the sensibility associated with these landscapes was appropriately impressive and awe-inspiring. In most cases therefore it was the character of the island that was deemed sublime rather than a specific landscape feature. For example, as Sir James Edward Alexander (1831) reminisced about each of the islands visited in the opening of his narrative, he recalled the overarching character of St. Vincent as sublime. He wrote, “St. Vincent, with scenery of Five Fingers Shoes the most sublime and magnificent character, and distinguished by a Soufriere or volcano”. This memory of the island’s character does not reveal his personal reaction to the landscape or his emotions in experiencing it, only the applicable association of the sublime with such a dramatic landscape.
With the exception of travel writers like Henry Nelson Coleridge (1825), few of the travel writers adhered to the strict guidelines Burke had established for the beautiful. These writers did not appear to hold a particular landscape image or type that was associated with the idea of the beautiful. Coleridge was one of the earliest tourists included in this study. He held a specific image of a beautiful landscape based on Burke’s terms in his mind, and he used this image to compare with the landscapes of the British West Indies. He wrote, “Grenada is perhaps the most beautiful Vibram Five Fingers Shoes of the Antilles, meaning by this that her features are soft and noble without being great and awful”. This idea is illustrated by the example in Figure 2, from John Henderson’s The West Indies, which depicts the smooth, round character of Mount Nevis. However, most writers applied the term liberally to connote the general attractiveness of landscape scenery and, unlike the sublime, often specific landscape features. For example, travel writers often declared specific plant species part of a beautiful landscape. This was common when the writers were more immersed in the landscape and could better appreciate the details. These landscapes were also generally more controlled environments, such as gardens. The writers expressed few emotions, other than simple pleasure, when describing beautiful landscapes.
Burke’s categorization pitted the sublime against the beautiful, and several travel writers did attempt to compare the islands of the British West Indies based on this dichotomy. Interestingly, some of these writers substituted the term ‘lovely’ to oppose the sublime, though their use of the term is generally consistent with Burke’s original typology. For example, Coleridge wrote, “If Trinidad is sublime, Grenada is lovely.” More specifically, Alexander wrote, “If Grenada is lovely, St. Vincent’s is sublime in character; the hills of the former are rounded in their outline, while those of the latter are sharp and abrupt, and deep valleys are bounded by sheer precipices.”

June 3, 2017

The Literature On The Multiplication Of Eastern Europe’s

Over time ‘Eastern Europe’ has become the repository of connotations and characteristics not necessarily linked with specific geographical areas. Nesting Orientalisms is a consequence of this flexibility of the ‘dark side of Europe.’ Bakic-Hayden used this construct to analyze national stereotypes in the former Yugoslavia, where “the designation of other has been appropriated and manipulated by those who have themselves been designated as such in orientalist discourse”. She described a system of stereotypes, where Western Europeans saw Yugoslavia as Vibram FiveFingers part of the Balkans (and thus ‘Other’) and Yugoslavs from the North considered the Yugoslavs from the South as ‘the East’ by playing on the Hapsburg versus Ottoman legacies. In the latter group, people of Orthodox faith considered themselves more European than people of Muslim faith. Finally, European Muslims distinguished themselves from non-Europeans. In a similar fashion, Czech, Hungarian and Polish dissidents re-introduced the term ‘Central Europe’ in the 1980s to present themselves as “the Eastern outpost of Europe”. In doing so, Central and Eastern European countries claim their own ‘Europeanness’ against their (Eastern) neighbors, reproducing a graded dichotomy between Europe and ‘the East’.
The literature on the ‘multiplication of Eastern Europe’s’ and, more generally, the formation of European identities, focuses on issues of citizenship, migration and the behavior of political elites and the media. Jiirgen Habermas argued that the development of a “political civic identity” among European citizens is necessary to further pursue any form of integration. Etienne Balibar analyzed the evolution of the very concept of ‘citizenship’ as a consequence of the new ways in Five Fingers Shoes which Europe is constructed. Donald McNeil discussed the ‘clashing identities’ of Europe considering an array of phenomena: the transformative actions of EU institutions, various national, regional and urban transformations, changes in popular culture, the role of mobility and migration, and processes of border formation and destruction. Despite all of this literature, the role of economic actors in these processes is under-researched. The literature acknowledges the importance of flows of businesspeople in creating transnational identities, but does not explore this in depth. I argue that it is important to fill this gap, for two main reasons. First, the enlargement of the EU is a powerful issue shaping European identity. The establishment of functional market economies is one of the three Copenhagen Criteria.
Therefore, the actions and perceptions of economic actors influence identity changes in Europe. Second, as economic sociologists point out, cultural understanding and identity, rather than ‘objective’ rationality are key drivers of business decisions. Nina Bandelj showed that calculations of risk and returns are not effective in the unstable environments of post-socialist countries. Firms must rely on social networks, cultural understandings, and power relations to make investment decisions. In order to fill this gap, this paper looks at nesting Orientalism from the standpoint of Italian investors. As they established investments in Central Eastern Europe from the 1990s, they ‘appropriated’ and ‘domesticated’ the areas where they invested, and pushed their imagination of the ‘East’ to countries beyond the boundaries of the European Union (such as Ukraine and Moldova).

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